July 3rd Fireworks at Magic Kingdom or California Grill?

[TexasPrincess1]

I originally was planning on going to California Grill the night we arrived (June 29th) to watch the fireworks and enjoy dinner. Today, I was able to get 3 good fastpasses for Magic Kingdom after 8pm on the 29th. Of course, my soon to be 9 year old thinks he will want to rush to the parks instead of taking it easy after a day of travel.

So, my new idea is maybe it might be a better experience to watch the July 3rd fireworks from Cali Grill Deck after an 8:45pm reservation. We plan to spend all day June 30 and July 3rd at Magic Kingdom. We will get to see wishes inside MK on June 30. Cali Grill will be a way to escape the crowd and handle the wait.

Or do you think that the special independence day fireworks should really be experienced in magic kingdom?

My strategy is to go to DHS on July 4th because I am hoping it will be less crowded than the other parks. I heard there were some special July 4th things in the evening there, too.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I haven't seen the Independence Day fireworks, but I've seen Hallowishes both in MK and from Cali Grill and while the Cali Grille view was great, nothing beats seeing the fireworks inside MK. That being said, it will be massively crowded. I think your decision is do you want the full experience with a massive crowd or a less hassled experience with a pretty good view.

 

[TSR6]

Here's the view of the standard wishes from the California Grill. I shot this video a few years back:

Now... the 4th of July fireworks will also likely have the "surround the park" fireworks at some points too, so you'll really only miss out on that view to the best of my knowledge. I'd go to the top of the Contemporary in my opinion.

 

[Klayfish]

We've done the Wishes show on both the 3rd and 4th of July inside MK. I'm glad we did it, so that I can say "We've been there, done that", but man oh man, it's a madhouse. Forget about getting a spot on Main Street unless you're crazy early. For the 4th of July show, we got there about an hour early and the only spot we could find was on the veranda of Cosmic Rays (I think it was that place...it's such a blur now that I honestly forget) which had a somewhat limited view. Yes, the fireworks are a bit better, but now that I've done it once, if I do it again it won't be from inside MK.

 

[Shellyb84]

Last year, we went to MK for the fireworks on the 3rd. We didn't even try to find a spot on Main St. We got a nice spot in front of Pinocchio Village Haus. We went to Epcot on the 4th and watched Illuminations, what an amazing show! We were staying at the BC so were able to leave through the IG. That was kind of tricky since we were going against the flow of traffic, but we watched from Canada so it was a short walk. This is our plan again this year. We went to HS during the day on the 4th last year, and it was a mad house. This year we plan on AK that day, they have morning EMH and the crowd level is predicted to be the lowest of all the parks.

 

[TexasPrincess1]

Thanks everyone for their comments!

 

[pjpoppins]

In the park! We are doing it this year...well have never been for the 4th festivities. We have seen Hallowishes near the carousel and it was amazing.

 

[CAS239]

It's super busy, but I'd vote being in the park. The 360 degree fireworks will be way better inside than watching from outside the park

 

[TexasPrincess1]

FYI: The fireworks on July 3rd start at 9pm.

Our reservation is for 8:45pm at California Grill.

 

[DianaMB333]

FYI: The fireworks on July 3rd start at 9pm.

Our reservation is for 8:45pm at California Grill.

What did you do? Any advice? I have that reservation time on July 3rd this year..thanks!!